Long view set with corridor plan

Thursday

Nov 21, 2013 at 9:34 AM

By Ed GaluckiStaff Writer

Residents rallying against a planned nearby subdivision will wait another 30 days before trying to convince the Cabot City Council to deny rezoning. A spokesman for Glenwood Estates residents asked for the delay considering two absent aldermen at the Nov. 18 council meeting.

In other matters, city council members also approved a long-range commercial plan for the Arkansas Highway 5 area.

"We would prefer to wait until there is a full council to address our concerns," Glenwood Estates resident Billy McCarroll said in calling for the council to delay considerations.

Planning Commission chairman James Reid presented the proposed rezoning to the council, recommending it be granted.

Reid said "an extreme amount of time" had been used to examine the merits of the development. "We feel very strongly this is a good fit for the area," he said.

The rezoning request is from R-1 to planned unit development (PUD), approval would open the way to a planned 40-plus-unit development on six acres next to Glenwood Estates.

Everyone had been given the opportunity to speak and many of the concerns heard by commission were "Temporary things that go along with progress as we grow," Reid said.

Concerns of disparity of property values, "are hard for us to address," Reid said. "But we feel what we approved on this … is a good fit," he said.

Glenwood Estates residents oppose the development citing safety concerns and reduced property values for their subdivision.

The subdivision would be built between Glenwood and U.S. Highway 67/167, with the only entry being a single street through Glenwood Estates. The development plans call for more than 40 "garden-style" single-family homes of about 1,300 to 1,500 square feet.

Glenwood residents argued against the development during considerations by the Planning Commission. They said the increased traffic through their subdivision would threaten the safety of children and be a general nuisance, destroying the quiet nature they had sought at Glenwood.

Also, the density of the proposed development and the lesser value of the homes would detract from the larger homes on 25 acres of Glenwood Estates.

The council effectively granted McCarroll’s call for a delay by following standard rules for approval of ordinances.

Arkansas Code Annotated 14-55-202 requires city ordinances to be read on three different days unless two-thirds of the council votes to dispense with the requirement.

When no alderman motioned for the rule to be waived, Cypert announced the readings would be continued at the next city council meeting. The next meeting will be Dec. 16.

In other matters, the council went on to approve the proposed commercial corridor plan for Arkansas Highway 5, proposed by the Planning Commission.

The plan sets the corridor as from DeBoer Road, north of Magness Creek, to "the general vicinity of AJ Patton" Road.

While there is heavy traffic volume on Arkansas Highway 5, "The corridor is dominated by sporadic rural development, low density residential uses, and vacant land," and limited commercial development, the plan states.

The goals of the plan are "To build and maintain a solid foundation for community growth and development;

"To enhance the corridor and provide a welcoming attractive gateway for Cabot;

"To preserve the functioning and safety of the Highway 5 corridor; and

"To balance land development and the natural environment along the corridor."

In other matters, the council approved the purchase of the lot at 408 South Polk Street, for the planned expansion of Cabot Veterans Park Community Center.

The council also approved the appointment of Jerrel Maxwell to the Cabot Planning Commission. Maxwell is the former superintendent of the public works department. His term will expire July 9, 2018.

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